Hebrews 1:5-14

To be sure, we tackled a large chunk of Hebrews this time.  In addition, there is a clear break with the beginning of a second line of argument at the chapter break.  Remember that these epistles were not written within the pericope system so that these section headings did not exist; these were just letters and in this case probably a sermon.  Still, the subject headings are useful.

The remainder of chapter 1 consists of a number of references both to the OT scripture and to the Gospels.  It can be argued that there are also references to a few of Paul’s letters, this being a ground for much conjecture on Paul’s authorship of Hebrews.  The base of the argument is not only is Jesus much superior to angels, but He is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Creator and the Redeemer.  Once again, notice the verbs in this passage.  They are all in the perfect mood, completed action, either in present perfect or past perfect.  We are in the realm of the indicative.  Notice that there have been absolutely no imperatives in the first chapter.  This is a key point.  When we come to the discussion of perseverance in Christ, all of the imperatives are grounded in the indicatives of this section of the epistle.

In an aside, I would point out that all of the epistles, especially the Pauline epistles, are written this way.  There are no imperatives without first grounding them in the indicative.  What this means is that the Gospel comes first; application flows out of the Gospel.  Said another way, correct doctrine leads to correct practice.  The corollary to this statement is this: if you start from ethics and imperatives, you will never find the Gospel; but if you start from the Gospel indicatives and then move to the imperatives, you will do so with the Christian liberty and freedom from the Law that enables you to actually accomplish some good through Christ.  Christ not only Sanctifies us, but He Sanctifies our Works as well.  This is a large argument to which I will return in later posts on Hebrews.

Let’s look at the passages of the OT referenced in the first chapter of Hebrews.  Several Psalms figure prominently in the discussion.  Starting with Psalms 2:7, we have a direct reference to the Messiah being the Son of God.  But each of these lines is grounded in at least one Psalm.  Psalms 89, 97, 104, 45, 102, 110 and 34 are all cited.  Take a moment to read from the Psalms and then compare them to Hebrews 1:5-14.  In addition to the Psalms, Hebrews takes direct citation not only from the Septuagint, but also from the Prophets.  This weaving back and forth between these portions of OT scripture in an important Evangelistic technique of the Apostles.  Look at the Apostolic example in the book of Acts.  Peter, Steven and Paul all discuss the historical events of the Resurrection and point to their fulfillment of OT scripture and prophesy.  There is a remarkable absence of the telling of their stories.  Isn’t Peter’s story pretty impressive?  And yet he, in particular, lays the groundwork for this Evangelistic technique at Pentecost.

In summary then, we have the author setting out indicatives from historical events and from scripture in a sort of proof of the Divinity of Christ.  He will be moving into a discussion of Salvation next.  Only the Messiah, the Living God, can make Salvation possible.  This is the point of chapter 2, that we will be discussing next week.

—Troll—